March Eats

March was a bit of a quiet month in the food stakes, we relied on a lot of our staple dinner recipes and only tried a few new things. We're saving for a trip to Bali so eating out was a rare occurrence in the Bovary household, but I did perfect an easy dessert that Mister is obsessed with and tried a new cereal that is my new morning love, so they were pretty good developments!

Dominos Pizza
Cornflake Crumbed Chicken with Greek Lemon Potatoes
Slow Cooker Curry on the way!
Spicy Capsicum Dip with Water Crackers and Carrot Sticks

Dominos pizza is a treat that the Bovary household is a big fan of - it's a bit pricy for pizza so we don't eat it too often though. I make my own 'Designa' pizza, because there is nothing better than feta and prawns on a crème fraiche base! In terms of homemade dinners, my favourite for the month was definitely my cornflake crumbed chicken - the sweetness from the cornflakes makes for the tastiest crumb and I can't wait to make this one again.

Microwave Golden Vanilla Pudding
Chocolate Cupcakes with Confetti Sprinkles
Uncle Toby's Plus Iron
Sweet Milo Slice

A regular instalment after dinner in March was this awesome microwave pudding - I use a base of golden syrup and serve it with scoops of vanilla ice cream (I use this recipe for it, super easy!) A big fail was the milo slice, I followed a recipe I found online when I was poking around for new things to make with milo but it was really hard and didn't have a great flavour - should have stuck to dumping the milo into cold milk like I usually do! My best new find of the month was Uncle Toby's Plus Iron - I tried this sample pack and then bought a full size, such was my immediate love for it! I've since finished that and have bought two more because I found it on sale and wanted a back-up. Having a food back-up reminds me of Papa Bovary who buys everything in bulk, it makes me laugh!

 

How exciting was your March Eats? Any recipes I should give a whirl?

-Emma xx

Eating Out | Red Door Corner Store, Northcote

The sun decided to pop its head back around the corner in Melbourne and my craving for sweet French toast hit a peak. After perusing the online menu for Red Door Corner Store (70 Mitchell Street Northcote ,Vic) I decided on the Brioche French Toast and made my way over with my best girlfriend in toe. RDCS is a place we hit up a few times while we were studying at university but the menu seems to have been updated since then, and the place was packed out when we arrived at 11am on a Sunday. There was a 5 minute wait for an inside spot, so we bit the bullet and headed to the garden round back to nab a table.

I love trudging along the faux grass path to get to the garden, which was full to the brim with hipsters sitting at nice little tables topped with potted succulents. The waitress was quick to drop off menus and a jug of water, which is always a good start to any meal. I studied the menu, despite already having decided on my choice, and was awfully tempted by the Housemade Crumpets (with Myrtleford butter, preserves, rooftop honey $9.5) and the corn fritters, but ultimately my sweet tooth won.

My flat white was pretty bang on, but the only sugar available was coconut sugar which I think polarized a few people as I heard whingey whispers from other tables over the course of our meal. I didn’t mind the caramel-esque taste it lent the caffeine though so I’m on board with the dark brown sweetener.

Adding brioche over regular bread immediately gives you the upper hand I think, and it was no different at Red Door Corner Store. It was basically a baked quince toasted sandwich with rosewater custard as the butter, and man that custard was divine. Sweet but not tooth-achingly so, it hit the spot for me and the sweet syrupy goodness drizzled atop the bread was the right balance when paired with the quenelle of cream hanging out on the plate.

It was actually my first time chowing down on quince and I must say – rather pear like? The praline was actually the most jarring thing for me, it was a bit of an attack on the tooth but overall the meal definitely needed a crunch factor so I can see why it was on the plate.  As you can see in the photo below, I demolished it so I can’t be too critical about these things.

Corn, Zucchini and Quinoa fritters ($16.5) came out rather unlike what I was expecting (I always think flat pancake style creations with a jumble of corn visible) and more like little fried parcels sitting around a rather large coleslaw salad. I liked the addition of the corn in the salad (always a good addition for me) but it didn’t quell my dislike for coleslaw in general so I didn’t munch on that. The spicy looking sauce was dairy -free despite looking quite creamy, and the burst of capsicum flavour was definitely needed with the kinda doughy fritters. My partner in crime loved the general gist of the meal and was delighted with the fritters so I think it was just my expectations that let me down a little bit. The addition of smoked salmon (an extra $5.5) was a surprising one with this meal – we were thinking of soft red ribbons of salmon (a breakfast fave surely?) but instead a huge and delicate pink salmon steak was perched aside the meal and was pretty much a meal in itself. A bargain but not something we’d add to the meal if we were to do it over as it was just too much!

For less than $50 including coffees, Red Door Corner Store served up a gorgeous spread that kept hunger at bay until dinner that night, which is definitely the sign of a good brunch! I'm definitely saving room for one of those delicious looking cakes next time I visit...
Emma x

February Eats

Another month, another food round-up for you all! I enjoyed some home cooking this month and the small handful of meals I ate out were really lovely and a nice treat. I'm still yet to indulge in new cuisines as per my 2015 goals, but I did make Greek lemon potatoes once more so at least I'm working on that goal!

second attempt at Greek lemon potatoes
seared tuna at Red Door Corner Store, Northcote
Chicken Satay from Paul Louey's, Rye
Brioche French Toast with Peach and Orange Custard from Red Door Corner Store

Another attempt to perfect my Greek lemon potatoes was a success, less of a success was the chicken satay from Paul Louey's in Rye that I had on Valentine's Day. $18.50 for this plate seems a bit excessive and it wasn't anything special (the Thai restaurant in Rye serves much better satay!)

A much better meal was shared with my best friend Candice at Red Door Corner Store - I went for the Brioche French Toast (yet again!) while Candice had the Seared Tuna. I had my first try of seared tuna that day! I have a full review of RDCS coming up on the blog.

homemade chicken & feta bowl, with spinach, rice, capsicum and corn
my home spin on a SumoSalad - southwest chicken w honey mustard dressing
a long-time favourite treat - Dorito's with Salsa!
Marion's Kitchen Korma Curry

We didn't eat out very much in February, and I tried to stay away from food court lunches by making my own versions at home. I threw together the chicken and feta bowl using bits and bobs from the fridge and freezer, whereas the 'el Bovary sumosalad' was a more thought out idea - I threw together everything I usually eat in my SumoSalad together and it was a pretty damn good copy!

Doritos and salsa are a rare snack for us nowadays but Mister and I really love them - why so addictive, huh? Last but in no way least was the Marion's Kitchen Korma Curry which we made with chicken - her boxed meal kits are the bomb, do yourself a favour and try them on a lazy weeknight!


raspberry swirl muffins for Mister's work lunches
Dairy Milk Picnic
Rolled Oats with honey and brown sugar apples
Baking spree - raspberry coconut tarts, banana tart and coconut turnover

Muffins don't personally float my boat but Mister loves them for taking to work, so I whipped up some raspberry swirl flavoured ones for him to take in and share with the boys. I seem to get bitten by the baking bug more often nowadays and I love experimenting with flavours, but sometimes you can't go wrong with a classic! Speaking of classics...Dairy Milk Picnic Block - turning a non-choc lover into a choc-lover since 2014.

I love eating oats for breakfast and often have overnight oats as they're really filling and delicious, but I didn't prepare anything overnight so whipped up some honey brown sugar apples to spice up some plain cooked rolled oats.

A big baking spree happened! I made tarts for my nephews birthday and then the rest just happened. The coconut turnover was the best out of that bunch for me, juicy and sweet with awesome flaky puff pastry.

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A big month of baking, it seems! What is your favourite thing to bake or make at home? Do you ever copy a favourite take-out/food court recipe at home?
-Emma

January Eats

I'd like to welcome a new regular to the emmabovarybeauty line-up - the monthly eats post! I see 2015 taking a lifestyle lean for my little slice of the internet, and I want to start incorporating all of the things that I love into my writing - when I originally began this blog in 2010 I wanted it to be about 'all of the things in life that make it beautiful' and I feel like I'm getting back on track with that now. A lot has changed for me personally since the blogs birth, and I feel its only right to pop up food posts and home posts as I see fit, since it's what make my life wonderful! Wordy ramble over, now onto some of the food I enjoyed in January!

Birthday ice-cream at Trampoline
Birthday lunch at RMB - calamari w chips and salad
Disappointing soy and ginger chicken
New 'By George' range at Coles

I celebrated my birthday at the beginning of January, and on the day spent a few hours shopping at Doncaster with my sister and my niece. I followed my lunch with a sweet treat from Trampoline Gelato - a scoop of Hazelnut Roche (nutella-like goodness, my fave!) and a scoop of Coconut!

Another beautiful birthday celebration, technically in late December but I threw it in this post anyway. My best friend Candi drove down for the day and took me out for lunch at RMB Westfield Plenty Valley. We both ordered Calamari with chips and salad, with Candi getting hers grilled as she needs GF and dairy-free options. I love that they were happy to accommodate, both versions of the calamari were beautifully cooked and the aioli was spot on for the crunchy flat chips.

I bought a premade stir-fry marinade that was soy and ginger based and cooked it with chicken for this home-cooked dish. It looked and smelt so good as it cooked and I had high hopes, but it was super bland and had almost no flavour whatsoever. Sure did look tasty, though!

Spotted a cute new brand at Coles - By George! George is my Dad's name so I snapped this picture to send him for a laugh!

Green Curry at Bay Thai
Lunch at Hatch
Lindt gift from my sister-in-law
Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake on a coffee break

Some gorgeous friends of ours celebrated their engagement with a party down in Albert Park and beforehand Mister and I shared a Thai Green Curry at the newly opened Bay Thai restaurant. It was super spicy so the beers went down well, and the flavour was seriously delicious.

Another surprise birthday lunch, well done January! My sister-in-law and brother-in-law took me out for a bit to eat, but not before they sung happy birthday to me with a candle stuck into a muffin! Was so nice to chill and check out the new Hatch restaurant in Preston, and the food was pretty tasty, but some of the dishes weren't as good as they could have been. I'll definitely head back here to try more of their menu though.

The next shot is of a nice little Lindt surprise from my other sister-in-law (I landed pretty lucky with my in-laws, didn't I?)

I am quite obsessed with baking at the moment and whipped up a quick and easy Betty Crocker vanilla cake with the intent of filling Mister's work lunches with it. I had a few slices myself and damn that's a good vanilla cake - added bonus is the premade frosting which was delicious. I had a nice little coffee break with Lolita and cake, what more could you want?


Dr Pepper at The Reject Shop
Choc-coated Peanuts
Coffee at Mumma Bovary's
Moccona with a Hint of Caramel <3

Had to snap a picture of this Dr Pepper 12pack at The Reject Shop - it's the obsession I began when we hit up America last year!

I was inspired by Norlin to nab a pack of chocolate covered peanuts to take to the cinema with me - great idea, Norlin!

A nice relaxing coffee break at Mumma Bovary's, but I have to admit that I have stashed a jar of Moccona with a Hint of Caramel in her cupboards as her coffee is always woeful!

Moccona, have I told you lately that I love you? I really do - Hint of Hazelnut is my next purchase alongside you, but right now I'm sitting in front of a hot cup of you with a splash of milk and everything seems right in the world.

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So there you have it - my first monthly eats instalment! I hope you all enjoy the lifestyle related content that I'll be posting, the bulk of my passion lies in the beauty realm but I think writing about a wider range of things every now and again will really warm my soul and make me much happier overall!

-Emma

2015 Goals

Now that we're at the end of January I feel like I'm beginning to settle back into normal life, and I've taken time out to assess my goals and what I'm aiming to achieve this year. 2014 was a big one for me with the wedding, honeymoon and finishing work, so 2015 will be very different and I can't wait to see what it holds for me! I plan on being more organised when it comes to blogging, I'd like to review more skincare this year and post more regularly, too. 

2015 Goals!

-Visit the Melbourne Aquarium
Mister has been promising me he'd take me there since we began dating - we are now married, so I think he needs to get a wriggle on!

-Read 30 Books
I'm off to a great start already, you can check out my Goodreads page here

-Start a herb garden
I've never been a keen gardener so this might be a challenge!

-Book our next overseas trip (Bali 2016!)
Our dear friends are getting married in Bali this time next year and it's so lovely to have a holiday to aim for!

-Make curry paste from scratch
My favourite dish is Massamun Curry and I'd love to make my own paste for it.

-Perfect Greek lemon potatoes
One attempt down so far and it was a success - now to perfect them!

-Buy new furniture for the guest bedroom
I am setting up one of our spare rooms as a guest bedroom and can't wait to decorate it all!

-Eat 6 different cuisines
Using Urbanspoon as a guide, I'm going to try 6 cuisines I've never had before and hopefully find some new favourite restaurants!

-Slimline my makeup and skincare stash (Project Use It Up!)
I think I would enjoy my stash a lot more if it were organised better and only had amazing products in it, so that is my ultimate aim.

-Install nail polish racks in beauty room
Who wouldn't want their polishes displayed so they are easy to reach for? 

What cuisine is your favourite? Anything out of the ordinary that I should try?
Emma x

What I Wore // Love Edition

Even though I am a firm believer that romance is nicer on random days than on February 14^th, I still used Valentine’s Day as an excuse to enjoy a nice meal out with my man. I have a few heart themed posts coming up, just to push the idea that love (for life, for beauty, for everything!) is something to be revered all year round. I used some exciting cosmetics to make the night feel a bit special, and I was really happy with how it all turned out. I was only able to catch this blurry picture of my actual face as I was too focused on the thought of food to find some decent lighting. It says a lot that my dinner pictures are clearer, doesn’t it!? I hope you still manage to see how it looked, and I’d love to know what you think of it.

MAC Rags to Riches Dazzleglass, Laura Mercier Artist Palette (particularly Plum Smoke & Coffee Ground), Revlon Carnation, Stila heart blush

pumpkin & spinach risotto, chilli prawns, crumbed brie with pita, spanish chorizo penne
(photo from Intagram, follow me 'emmabovary')

Hope you find love in beauty and food like I do! I’d love to hear what you got up to on February 14^th!

Australian!

Yesterday was Australia Day, a day off to celebrate the amazing country that I am lucky enough to live in. Though my parents were both born in Scotland, they count themselves as true blue Aussies, too (Mum wore an Australian flag tshirt, so cute) I was brought up with backyard barbies and the Dad's from the street sharing a tinnie at the letterbox with their kids around their feet, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Proud to be Australian:) 

I spent our National day the best way I knew how- lazing around, being taken out for lunch, and watching the Australian Open on the telly. I snapped some iPhone pictures along the way.

A slap dash face today, as I have limited makeup at Chris' and had to make do. Main features were Essence Silky Touch Blush in 'Adorable' topped with a little bit of MAC's 'Hand-Finish' (shimmerbomb!) MAC paintpot in 'Chilled On Ice' over my lid with some mascara and the winner of the day...Face of Australia's Malibu Barbie! A full post on this will be up soon, adore this bright pink lipstick.

My outfit of the day (though I spent the first half in my pjs!) I'm in love with my new maxi skirt, total bargain from Kmart right there. Wore it with a t-shirt I stole from Chris' Mum, told you I had limited resources at his place;)

hey fatty photo! with Chris' Mum's sunnies, yeesh.

But my FOA Malibu Barbie lipstick looks pretty rad, you must agree. This was taken at the cafe Chris took me to for lunch, yum yum

Popeye pizza! Smothered in spinach and fetta, my kinda indulgence right there. Chris ordered gnocci with bolognese sauce, no picture because it was all meaty and gross looking.

San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa, my favourite flavoured soft drink

Yep, that's me as we went through the car wash. Weeeeeeeeeeee

Sat in front of the telly with Sox aka Soxy Soxington and watched Federer and Nadal square off.

A lovely Australia Day indeed :)

What did you do this fine day?

Even if you aren't an Aussie, I'd love to know!

EARL Canteen

EARL Canteen is my new favourite eatery, and twice this fortnight my best girlfriend Candice and I have made the trip all the way up Bourke St to enjoy it. The first trip we just had coffee (and I macarons) but after seeing the amazing lunch menu we knew we had to eat there. Gorgeous raspberry and dark chocolate macaron (couldn't wait to take a bite,oops!)

My flat white with raspberry and dark choc macaron, and white peach macaron, which was my favourite. On our second visit we had lunch, Candice chose the Duck Confit.

Confit duck, caramelised wild figs,walnuts,raddichio,onion jam & watercress on a gluten-free wrap $16

I will admit that I nabbed a bit of the duck and stuffed in into my ciabatta, flavour was strong and delicious!

I chose the Cheesy Mushroom breakfast, and even though the brekky menu was over they made it for me anyway, as they weren't too busy=)

Roast field mushrooms, melted provolone, thyme, spinach, ciabatta. $9.5

Mushrooms were fresh, cheese was perfectly melted, ciabatta crunchy but not too much so. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough spinach for my liking.

EARL Canteen is a place I think I'll be visiting frequently this year, the coffee, ambience and service is impeccable and it's a good excuse to visit the Southern Cross DFO nearby ;)

A thumbs down for the seating, however...Candice and I are 'staturely challenged' and I damn near fall off the high stools every single time! Other than that, I'm in love.

EARL Canteen

500 Bourke Street (enter via Little Bourke)

Melbourne 3000

Breakfast & Lunch from 7.30am Mon-Fri

www.earlcanteen.com.au